AI tools we actually use

ChatGPT

All-round assistant for writing, brainstorming, coding help and explaining new topics.

Free plan

A short, honest list of the AI tools our team uses for research, teaching and everyday work, and what each one is best at. Last reviewed: September 2026.

Claude

Strong at long documents, careful analysis and clear writing. Great for reviewing drafts.

Free plan

Gemini

Google’s assistant, built into Gmail, Docs and Search. Handy for everyday tasks.

Free plan

Perplexity

Free plan

Answers questions with links to its sources, so you can check them.

Gemini Notebook

Formerly NotebookLM. Ask questions about your own PDFs and notes, with citations.

Free

Free plan

Elicit

Finds research papers and pulls their key findings into a table.

More tools by task

• Research papers: Consensus, Semantic Scholar and ResearchRabbit. See our guide AI tools for researchers.

• Images and photo editing: Canva Magic Studio, Adobe Firefly and Remove.bg. See Magic edits with AI.

• Diagrams and figures: EdrawMax. Read our review.

• Learning to code: Kaggle Learn, with an AI assistant as your tutor. See our free roadmap to learn AI.

Plans and prices change often, so check each tool’s website before you sign up. Never upload confidential or personal data to a tool without checking its privacy settings.